Chapter 361
Wang Jiazhi recently took to walking. After Lao Yi left, she packed up and headed out too. If he didn't come back that day, she'd go out before dawn the next day. She deliberately wore flat shoes and walked for at least three hours every day. If he wasn't staying overnight, she'd be out by four or five in the morning and could walk for five or six hours.
When he came back in the evening, she was already home, as if nothing had happened that day.
Wang Jiazhi always chose to hike places she had never been before. No matter where she went, she would turn back when the time was almost up. She would hike a distance two or three times, observing the scenery and details along the way. She would especially start before dawn, watching the night scene change from dusk to dawn. Most of the time, she had no idea where she was at the end of the road.
After a journey becomes boring two or three times, she will explore the next section, and then the next two or three times.
She looked at the tender buds of plants growing on the roadside; the curtains of various colors hanging on the windows of each household in the early morning; the plum blossoms that had not yet fallen on the branches in someone's yard; the magnolias that had already formed buds in someone's house; the little yellow dog in the yard that could be seen through the iron bars of this family, whether it was asleep or sticking its head out of the iron bars; and whether the old woman had taken her granddaughter to the dim sum shop to see the steamed osmanthus cakes today.
She walked like this all day long in Hong Kong for a while because there were no cars due to the war. Later, she got used to walking and didn't take a car because she had no money.
Sometimes it was to find work, sometimes to get some food. I'd walk all day on an empty stomach, feeling groggy and tired, sitting by the roadside. After a day's walk, I'd always wonder if the soles of my shoes were worn out. Every time I'd brace myself and tremble with fear, I'd check them, but when I saw they weren't, I felt a sense of relief.
There's a saying called "eating sugarcane," which means things are like eating sugarcane: bitter at first, then sweet, and gradually getting better. Her walk back then was exactly the opposite. At first, she had the energy to keep going, and looking at the people and scenery along the way provided a temporary distraction. But as she walked more, she began to tire. There was no food, and the more she walked, the more tired and hungry she felt. After finally reaching her destination, the thought of having to walk back filled her with despair. Sometimes, when she couldn't hold on any longer, she'd consider sleeping on the side of the road for the night—it wouldn't matter, given the abundance of homeless people there, and no one would mind. But every time, she'd think of this, she'd still make the journey back.
There were also times when she was woken in the middle of the night by hunger and cold. She couldn't fall asleep, and staying still was even more irritating, so she simply went out before dawn. Once, she forgot where she was going, but it was already dawn. She passed a row of trees and saw a dense mass of creatures perched on the branches. Looking closely, they were crows, at least hundreds of them, so if they flew up, they would surely block out the sun. There's a saying about "fruitful and abundant," but that could be "crows-filled," as if the trees were covered in crows.
At that time, she envied the crows so much that they could sleep comfortably in the trees.
Many years later, she would still think of that morning inadvertently.
I only lived to be 23 years old. I have been displaced since I was 16, helpless and tormented by both spiritual and material poverty. How can I justify such a premature death and destitution after all the suffering I have endured?
When she was little, she didn't like Emperor Chongzhen very much because when the country was destroyed and the family was ruined, he sent his sons away to escape, but killed his daughters. She felt that he didn't treat his daughters as human beings. When she talked about this with her mother, her mother also said, "That's right, why didn't he send his daughters away too?"
Later, she realized that even if she endured the torture of a life worse than death and ultimately died young, it would be better to die cleanly. At that time, death was a blessing. Princess Changping didn't die. She experienced Li Zicheng and the Qing Dynasty, but she died two years later, still pregnant with a five-month-old child, at the age of 17. Who knows what she went through?
She had originally thought she wasn't completely destitute, but that she had lost everything she had. Later, she regretted it. Why had she always fantasized about seeing him again? If she had taken the pills and died, she would never have known he knew what had happened, never that he despised her and no longer loved her.
She used to think that everything had to have a reason and an outcome, but later she had to accept that many things were destined to be irrational. In life, there are some things that you can only be ignorant of and deceive yourself about.
Even though the days went by peacefully as if nothing had happened, she had someone tell him that something was wrong. She told him that he must have known about it, but he didn't say anything, and the two of them continued to live their lives as if nothing had happened.
The cause of this illness was that Mrs. Yi found a new lover for him.
Mrs. Yi seems to be very gentle towards Wang Jiazhi these days, but she is actually biding her time.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Mrs. Yi usually strategizes and chats happily with other ladies at the poker table. She is only shrewd in competing with females, and has very little experience in palace fighting.
Although Lao Yi was a playboy, he would abandon women after the novelty wore off and they did not threaten the interests of his wife. She had always let it go, but this time he acted on impulse and brought Wang Jiazhi over, inviting a wolf into the house, which made her very distressed.
Mrs. Yi had her own plans. It was rare for a man not to want children. Old Yi's indifference was probably because he had secretly seen her son and realized it was his fault, so he gave up. Old Yi came from a poor family and was not from a wealthy family. He had to have an heir, and if he really didn't have one, he would adopt one. Old Yi had never mentioned adoption. She had seen how thin and haggard he had become in recent years, and she thought that even if nothing happened, he would probably die many years before her, and the family property would be just enough for her to take care of herself in her old age. If she really adopted a son, most sons these days were prodigals. She couldn't even rely on her own biological children, let alone an adopted one.
Originally, she was very confident about this matter, but Wang Jiazhi and he were going through a rough patch, and Madam Yi was unable to sleep or eat. If she misjudged Wang Jiazhi and gave birth to a child, wouldn't the family fortune belong to them and their child, and wouldn't her plans be ruined? Even if she couldn't have a child, if Old Yi really continued to like her, wouldn't she take a large portion of the property? So, no matter what, if she had to have a favorite concubine, she had to be under her control, and if she had to have a child, it had to be born by someone under her control, so that the loss would not be too great.
Not only was Lao Yi's seriousness towards Wang Jiazhi a threat to her interests, but Wang Jiazhi was something she had brought upon herself, which was a huge blow to her self-esteem. Therefore, she had to defeat Wang Jiazhi and regain her self-esteem.
Mrs. Yi thought that Old Yi had always been looking for mature women, but when he met someone as innocent as Wang Jiazhi, he took her seriously. But Wang Jiazhi was married after all, and no matter how innocent she was, she was not as popular as a young girl.
It seemed like she had been laying low recently, but she was actually secretly searching for someone new. After careful selection, she finally found the perfect candidate.
The girl comes from a middle-class family, has a clean background, is a college student, and is very talented, only better than Wang Jiazhi.
One day, Mrs. Yi took advantage of the fact that a distant relative was visiting her hometown and called Mr. Yi to ask him to come back to meet him. She also took the opportunity to introduce the girl to him.
When he saw the person, he understood what Mrs. Yi meant, but he did not say anything. He said a few words to the distant relative and left as usual, thinking that after a while, Mrs. Yi would naturally send the person away.
The servants on both sides knew about this, but they didn't dare tell Wang Jiazhi or Mrs. Yi about his personal affairs. Everything was calm there until Mrs. Liao's daughter mentioned it to Wang Jiazhi over the phone. Then she smiled and said, "Want to go check it out? I just told my mom I was going there to play cards."
"Okay." Wang Jiazhi said with a smile.
Since she had gone that day, everyone knew she was there to see someone. Firstly, Mrs. Yi felt that as the principal wife, she had the right to find someone for her husband. Secondly, Wang Jiazhi clearly wanted to see him, and not letting her see him would seem like she was afraid of her, which would be a reversal of status. So she called the little girl out to see him.
Wang Jiazhi saw that the girl was very beautiful, very fair, and had a very good temperament and demeanor, very gentle and elegant. She also said that she was a freshman in college, played the piano very well, and had also dabbled in classical poetry.
Wang Jiazhi just smiled and asked, "How old are you?"
"Twenty."
"oh."
Everyone had a great time that day, and they played cards until the afternoon when Wang Jiazhi said goodbye and went home.
After taking a shower in the evening, she came out first, and then he came out. He saw that she had taken off her clothes and covered herself with a quilt, with only her head exposed. She looked at him delicately and shyly.
This little guy is still like this after giving birth, playful and shy.
That night she tried even harder than usual to make him happy. The next morning she got up before daybreak to cook for him, and he didn't notice anything was wrong.
One day, when the little girl was cleaning the house, she found that the back of her pillow was wet with her tears. She immediately called her mother to tell her.
He knew that she probably knew about what was happening with Mrs. Yi, and she was in a bad mood again.
That day, Mrs. Yi was playing mahjong with a few other ladies. While they were chatting and laughing, the phone rang. After a while, her mother came in and Mrs. Yi asked with a smile what was the matter.
Grandma said, "Master called and said Miss Yun has no connection to our family, so why should she stay home for no reason? A girl's serious studies are the most important thing. Forcing her to stay home and do nothing is so pathetic. He wants Madam to send Miss Yun home to study as soon as possible. Also, Master said if Madam gets too bored playing cards, she can go back to her hometown in the countryside for a few days to relax and unwind."
As soon as A-Ma finished speaking, a deathly silence fell around the card table, and Mrs. Yi showed a rare look of panic. In front of so many people, he actually threatened to send her back to the countryside for a little devil. She knew that he had deliberately asked A-Ma to say this to her in front of everyone, just to dampen her spirit. Mrs. Liang hurried to smooth things over, and the others smiled as if they hadn't heard anything. No one mentioned the matter, and they continued playing cards as if nothing had happened.
But this matter was spread out on the same day, making Mrs. Yi very embarrassed.
Wang Jiazhi was undoubtedly ill again. The girl was also twenty years old. She was pure and innocent at twenty, studying in school, while she was dirty and stupid, constantly fearing she might have contracted a disease.
He should find someone like her.
Although Wang Jiazhi knew that the girl was sent away the next day, she was not going to recover from this illness anytime soon. On the surface, she acted as if nothing had happened, just like usual, so he didn't point it out, thinking that it would heal over time.
But as soon as he was not at home, she would go out for a walk, walking endlessly.
One night after lights out, she nestled in his arms to soothe herself to sleep. After a while, he realized she was still awake, so he said carefully, "Don't dwell on the past. You still have a lifetime ahead of you."
It would have been better if he hadn't said it, but as soon as he said it, she couldn't help choking up.
"I think that girl is very good. You should have someone like her."
"I always talk nonsense like this. I'm so cheap that I can easily fall in love with anyone."
"She's a very good person, how can she not be worthy of your attention? She's better than me, at least. I don't have any extravagant expectations. I just want to give birth to a child for you in this life. If one day you don't like me anymore, I will at least leave you something so that you can't forget me. In fact, I'm not that useless, as if I can't live without you in this life. It's just that I found that apart from you, I am destined to lose everything, and maybe one day you will lose it too. Everyone has their own destiny. I blame myself and others. But after thinking about it, I think I'm not that bad. In the final analysis, it's fate that is playing tricks on me, and I should blame fate the most. Don't you think so?"
"I've only ever cared about you. I know a lot of things that make you feel insecure. Why don't I divorce her? I know you don't care about these things, you just think I'll change my mind, but what can I say to reassure you? It's better to let her go so that you don't have the chance to be sad."
"Stop talking nonsense. This is my own problem. What does it have to do with others? Mrs. Yi is a very good person. You can tell she is a blessed person right away. With a wife like her, you will also be lucky."
Wang Jiazhi thought that Mrs. Yi was about the same age as her mother, and her family was poor back then. According to her mother, if her family had been better off, she wouldn't have married him. Her mother also said that Mrs. Yi wasn't like this when she was young, and she didn't speak without thinking, which offended many people. But after being an official's wife for a few years, she had learned everything.
If I had been from a better family back then, and married into a wealthy family, how could I have lived a life of wealth and glory for so long? My mother was such a good person, but she still burned out her life and died young. She lived a life of suffering, without any blessings, and her children were so disappointing, wasting all her hard work.
He said disdainfully: "In my life, my status, honor and disgrace all depend on myself, so why should I rely on her?"
In fact, although Old Yi's family was poor when he was young, he was well-known in his hometown, especially because he was well-educated. Several wealthy families were impressed by his talent and wanted to marry their daughters to him, believing that he would have a successful future. However, his parents discussed it with him, but he refused. He felt that if he married someone from a better-off family than himself, he would not be able to stand up to his wife. Even if he succeeded in the future, she and her family would still talk about how he had married out of his status. So he specifically told his parents that they would allow him to marry, but she had to be from a similar family, or preferably even poorer. His parents were powerless to change him, so they married him to Mrs. Yi as he wished. Later, as he wished, Mrs. Yi was very afraid of him and never dared to interfere in his affairs.
"What's the point of being strong and having a conscience all your life? My mother, grandmother, and uncle were all strong-willed and conscientious people, but they all died young. The women in my family who came to me had shorter lives and more miserable lives than the other. I thought that wouldn't happen to my child. Her great-grandmother, her grandmother, and I have reserved all our blessings for her. Fortune tellers always say that you have to resolve this and that, otherwise your next life won't be good. I don't want a next life. I've already lived a life worse than death. I don't believe it will be better in the next life. I came here because of you. If you and the child can be fine, I would be willing to die in your place."
"Don't talk nonsense. It would be better if I die. You two can be fine."
"Don't say that. What do you want me to do?" She thought about the possibility that he might die, and now every day was getting closer, but she couldn't help but feel sick. She felt even more sad. "I can't do anything about what you think of me, but you have to believe that you are the only one in my heart in this life. Believe it or not."
"When did I ever say I didn't believe it? You're always so suspicious. What can I do?"
"How can I not be suspicious of what you did?"
"What did I do again?"
"You yourself..." She sobbed. Of course, he himself could not remember anything.
She added: "Tell me, what am I in your eyes?"
"There are Fusu trees on the mountain and lotus flowers in the marshes. In my heart, you have always been the most beautiful lotus."
She burst into tears and said, "The roots of the lotus are dirty!"
"You can't talk like that!"
She threw herself into his arms and burst into tears.
"It's all that group's fault. Don't torture yourself with other people's mistakes."
"It's also my own fault."
"They are even more stupid than you. They are still doing such evil things, but they can live well. Why can't you?"
"How can I be the same as them! I am on par with those idiots and scum, what have I become! You like someone who wants to be on par with idiots and scum, what have you become!"
He really couldn't refute it.
The two of them talked nonsense like this and cried for half the night.
She fell into a drowsy sleep in the second half of the night and dreamed that when she was a child, her mother took her back to her grandmother's house. Her mother was chatting with her aunt. Her aunt was wearing a gold bracelet on her hand, and she was mocking her mother for not having one.
She asked, “Why doesn’t Mom have a gold bracelet?”
Her aunt said, "Your mother had a gold bracelet. When you were a child, you always cried a lot. The fortune teller said that you were possessed by something, and that putting a small gold bracelet on you would lock you up. Your mother melted down her gold bracelet and made two small gold bracelets for you. It's all because of you that your mother lost her gold bracelet."
Her mother said, "Don't talk nonsense to the child. I didn't wear that bracelet anyway. Gold is too tacky to wear now, and who would wear it except a child? She's grown up now, and she's long since stopped wearing it. It's just sitting there in vain."
Later she asked her mother if it was because of her that she didn’t have the gold bracelet and would be laughed at.
Her mother laughed and said, "Mom doesn't like gold bracelets."
"No, it's not. If I weren't there, Mom wouldn't have to live without the gold bracelet. Having a child is not good at all."
At the time, she felt that being a mother was a daunting task. Her mother had to cook, wash her face, comb her hair, and dress her. She couldn't eat the delicious food herself, leaving it for her. She had to save money to buy her clothes and shoes. When she was sick, she had to take her to the doctor and stay up all night to care for her. She shared her thoughts with her mother.
The mother laughed and said, "You silly child. I am much happier to have you than to have a gold bracelet, good food and nice clothes. You will understand when you grow up and become a mother."
Wang Jiazhi woke up crying in her dream. Although she regained control of herself quickly after regaining consciousness, she still woke him up again, and both of them started crying again, unable to sleep.
The next day, A-ma told Mrs. Yi that Old Yi wanted her to go back to the countryside and leave the day after tomorrow.
Mrs. Yi opened her mouth wide in disbelief.
Grandma said again, "The master wants his wife to live in the country."
Mrs. Yi knew he was serious. If he left the day after tomorrow, it wouldn't be a scare tactic, and there would be time for negotiation. This was a situation with no room for maneuver.
Mrs. Yi said angrily, "No one has lived in this country house for many years. How can I live there if I go back?"
Grandma said, "I said that too. The master said that we could live in two rooms in the beginning, but now the house is so big, how come we still can't get used to it? People should never forget their roots."
Mrs. Yi burst into tears after hearing this. In all his life, he had never said that she was marrying above her station. Now, at such an old age, he was actually digging up her past. Why didn't he tell her that when she was at her parents' house, seven or eight people lived in one room? For a vixen, he actually disregarded the bond between husband and wife.
Mrs. Yi was now a little confused. She called and said that he was not at the yamen. She wanted to call there, but was afraid that Wang Jiazhi would try to sow discord between them, so she had to call Mrs. Liang to discuss it first.
Mrs. Liang was also surprised and said, "Didn't they send the girl away? It's no big deal. Why is Wang Jiazhi so domineering? I've never seen a second wife in a family so arrogant."
Mrs. Yi said, "Yes, he doesn't like me, and it doesn't affect her in any way. Why does he hate me like this?"
Mrs. Yi was now completely hopeless. Asking her to return to the countryside was worse than death. When she was young, she felt so uncomfortable for the first month after moving to the city that she dreamed of returning to the countryside. But after that month, when she had learned the benefits of the city, she wondered how she had managed to survive those twenty-plus years in the countryside. She never wanted to go back.
The next day, this matter spread like wildfire in the circle, and several wives asked their husbands to persuade Old Yi not to send Mrs. Yi back to the countryside.
"I've never heard of a man who had a second wife sending his first wife to the countryside to make room for a concubine."
The wives said this, but in fact, there were many cases where they sent their wives to the countryside to make room for the second wife.
Aside from his sometimes harsh treatment of colleagues at work, Old Yi was generally easygoing. However, due to the nature of his work, those around him were hesitant to cross him. Men understand men best, and they'd long since seen that he was serious about finding someone to live with. He wasn't the only one; *** had already settled down before him, deeply in love with that actress. Furthermore, even if they weren't afraid of him, there was no reason to dissuade him; after all, it was Mrs. Yi who initiated the attack. In the eyes of his colleagues, Mrs. Yi offered little help to his career, had no children, and yet was so reckless as to engage in palace intrigue. Especially in the current climate, where life was a matter of days, who had the energy to let her riot? Sending her back to the countryside, allowing Old Yi and his second wife to enjoy a few days of peace, would be the only way to live a fulfilling life. They all felt a deep sense of shared destiny; who knew the hardships of a lifetime in an arranged marriage? Consequently, not only did no one around Old Yi try to dissuade him, both publicly and privately, but they were all incredibly supportive. That's what men are like!
Several wives went to Mrs. Yi's house to comfort her, and of course some of them were gloating over her misfortune.
Mrs. Liang also asked Mrs. Liao's daughter to call Wang Jiazhi. How could she be so disrespectful to the main wife?
Wang Jiazhi was still out at the time and didn't come back until the afternoon when the call got through. She was shocked to hear the news and immediately called Lao Yi.
The other side said: "I just want her to go back and be quiet for a few days."
"What people say about her will make her lose face. You don't know how rude those people are."
"How awful it is that she can't hear it in the country."
"You!" Wang Jiazhi calmed down and continued, "What will people say about me? They will say that I asked you to send her to the countryside. What will people say about me?"
"You can't hear it, so why bother about what others say. Don't worry, there's no one in that group that they don't talk about in private."
"How could you be so cruel? She still feels bored when she has company and flattery every day. How is she supposed to live in the countryside? They say she cries bitterly over there."
"That's how she lived in the beginning. It's just a return to her old life. What's the big deal?"
“It’s difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.”
"I want her to recall the bitter past and think of the sweet past."
"you……"
"I still have work to do here, so don't worry about it."
"Um!"
The other party actually hung up the phone. Wang Jiazhi held the receiver, almost furious.
Mrs. Liao's daughter heard everyone scolding Wang Jiazhi and said, "I called her, and she said she knew nothing. I also called Uncle Yi, and she was almost crying on the phone. Uncle Yi wouldn't listen to her, and she had no choice."
These ladies automatically hated all the concubines and did not believe her at all, so they scolded Wang Jiazhi again.
Mrs. Liao's daughter said, "Don't be like this. If Uncle Yi finds out, he'll be angry again. In the end, of course, you won't get anything done. He'll just take it out on Aunt Yi again."
The other wives fell silent upon hearing this. Mrs. Yi was in even greater agony. Then, her mother came over again, asking if she wanted to take some old clothes with her. She also watched the little maids running in and out carrying bedding, wondering if they should take the mattress with them. The country house was completely unprepared. It looked like they had to leave. Mrs. Yi hadn't allowed them to pack, but these servants were his people; she couldn't stop him from packing.
Grandma said, "Madam, please go to bed early today. You have to get up early and leave tomorrow."
Mrs. Yi almost fainted when she thought about leaving here for the countryside early tomorrow morning.
Now, not only did he fail to regain his face, but he was even more embarrassed and was sent back to the countryside.
The ladies sat for a while, but couldn't come up with any solution. They all left in the afternoon, leaving only Mrs. Liang to comfort her. After all, she had to get up early and travel tomorrow.
Those people who left Yi's house didn't go home first, but went out to eat together, gossiping while eating. This is the most shocking gossip recently.
Mrs. Liao's daughter said, "Aunt Yi is really something. Does she really think that people always flatter her because of her? Isn't it true that a wife is honored by her husband? She has angered Uncle Yi this time. Let's see what she will do."
Mrs. Liao said angrily, "You know that a wife is honored by her husband, why don't you restrain yourself a little?"
Mrs. Liao's daughter angrily said, "What else do you want me to do? Who of them, young or old, is a human being? How can you reason with them? The weaker you are, the more they abuse you. It's better for me not to indulge them now."
The others were afraid that she would go crazy again, so they didn't dare to say anything.
The next day, there was still no decree of pardon. Mrs. Yi couldn't believe it and got on the bus back to the countryside with red eyes.
The mother and the little girl over there did not go back with them, but stayed to look after the house. The mother and the little girl on Wang Jiazhi's side felt very morale-boosting.
Mrs. Yi in this family cried until her eyes were swollen, and Wang Jiazhi and the other two cried for half the night and their eyes were also swollen.
A-ma, however, remained completely impartial, judging the facts without taking personal advantage. She showed no partiality or favoritism towards all three protagonists of this incident. First, there was Madam Yi. A-ma felt she hadn't improved much since her youth. While it was perfectly natural for a wife to find a concubine for her husband, she didn't consider the situation. She knew he was completely captivated by that little nymphomaniac. She hadn't learned her lesson from the previous Hongmen Feast, and now she'd gone even further by finding a concubine. Wasn't that just a path to her own demise? She was simply foolish. Furthermore, she'd been living a comfortable life for too long, surrounded by people fawning over her, and had become complacent, overestimating her own limitations. A man had given her respect out of duty, and she'd genuinely assumed he couldn't do anything to her. Now, with just one word from him, she'd been exposed. Of course, A-ma also felt Wang Jiazhi wasn't a good person, because she'd seduced a man into favoring his concubine over his wife, causing unrest in the family. Her mother reported that the next day, Old Yi's eyes were swollen. I've never seen anything like this in all these years. A grown man, how could he have the dignity to go out and be seen by others? Of course, my mother also criticized Lao Yi in her heart. For a little witch, he was making such a fuss. The older he got, the worse he was even when he was young.
Old Yi heard people say that she was away for hours every day, and just thinking about it made him exhausted. When he came home, she acted as if nothing had happened, cooking for him every day and being even more considerate than before. But he still couldn't sleep well at night. How could he not get sick if he kept working so hard? Thinking of this, how could he not hate Mrs. Yi?
Later he asked her why she went to those places, and she laughed and said she just wanted to walk around and it didn't matter where she went.
In her previous life, after she died, he also wandered around, unable to sleep in the middle of the night, and asked someone to drive him around. He was not like her, he did not know the road, he was familiar with every road, but he did not know where she wanted to go at that time.
Sometimes he would drive around in his car, driving every road until dawn, just to find out where she was going. One day, he suddenly realized that she wanted to go back to the apartment. Going back there would be like walking into a trap, but she had nowhere else to go, so she still wanted to go back to find him.
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